


Told You

by nerdypipsqueak



Series: Fictober 2020 [10]
Category: A Dangerous Man: Lawrence After Arabia (1990), Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Royalty, Engagement Announcement, M/M, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-10-29
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27266548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nerdypipsqueak/pseuds/nerdypipsqueak
Summary: Fictober prompt: I told you so.Sassoon finds out that his best friend is seeing someone.
Relationships: Faisal bin Hussein bin Ali al-Hashemi/T. E. Lawrence, Siegfried Sassoon/Stephen Tennant
Series: Fictober 2020 [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1970629
Kudos: 5





	Told You

"Your friend is in the papers again." Stephen unceremoniously drops a stack of papers and magazines on Siegfried's stomach, knocking the wind out of him.

"Which one?" 

"The one who is totally not dating a prince."

"Ned? He's not. He would have told me."

"Well, _I'm_ telling you he is. As a professional."

Siegfried bites back a snide remark about the professionalism of gossip columnists and picks a paper from the now ruined stack. Sure enough, it's there, not on the first page though, on the second, covering the entire spread. He skims over the article, it's the typical nonsense about the "devilishly handsome Jordanian prince" and the "mysterious Mr Lawrence" whose position in the prince's household is yet to be determined. Thankfully the article doesn't speculate much on that. Siegfried's seen some pretty wild theories in the press, he'd even spoken briefly to Ned about those theories. The man had been upset about them but not upset enough to want to confide.  
Siegfried turns his attention to the photograph accompanying the article. It's very tame, just two men standing outside a second hand bookstore in Camden with their backs to the window, the shorter one talking on his phone, the taller one holding Costa Coffee cups. But there is something about it, something about the way they look at each that makes Siegfried wonder.

When the announcement comes Siegfried is sitting in his pyjamas in front of the TV, idly channel-hopping and feeling sorry for himself. Earlier he'd had a fight with Stephen over the newspapers; the selfish little fiend had grabbed them all before he could even get to them and is now locked in his office, apparently working but most probably just sulking.

So Siegfried skips from reruns of old science fiction series to true crime documentaries to a breakfast show. The two presenters are preparing to go through the morning headlines, an affair he's about to skip too when...

"Prince Feisal of Jordan has made a rather surprising double announcement in today's edition of the Guardian." The female presenter's voice is almost singsong, dripping with forced cheerfulness. "In an exclusive interview His Royal Highness came out as gay..."

Siegfried gags on his coffee. That guy Ned's been hanging out with - gay?! That is one hell of a coincidence.

"What's more, His Highness announced his engagement to none another than Thomas Edward Lawrence, the same mysterious gentleman we've been seeing with him."

"Engagement?!" Siegfried screams at the TV. Furious, he grabs his phone and dials Ned's number.

"Please don't shout." Ned says weakly in lieu of good morning.

"What do you mean don't shout?! You little shit, we're supposed to be besties!"

"I'm sorry, Sieg. We had to... He's a prince, we couldn't just..."

"How long?"

"Three years."

"You got a boyfriend and hid him from everyone for three years?! Three fucking years, Ned! Why?!"

"Because he's a prince from a conservative country! I didn't want him to lose the life he knows, to lose his family..."

"Jesus Christ, Ned... Okay, okay, look. I'm coming over, I want a proper introduction." Siegfried scrambles to his feet, tripping over them in his eagerness. As he runs up the stairs he bumps into Stephen.

"I told you so." Stephen smacks him on the head with a rolled up magazine, smiling smugly. "I told you so."


End file.
